Cricket vs Football, Which is Better

Cricket or Football?

While the entire world is going crazy over football, here we are, content with our test matches.

Qatar splashed a staggering $220 billion on football, while we spent five whole days playing with just five or six leather balls. It's hard not to feel a bit inferior in such a scenario.

Test cricket—what is it really? A supreme test of patience. A long, monotonous game that demands endurance. But where's the fun once boredom sets in? After all, the essence of sport is excitement, energy, and action. Picture this: a bowler runs in from 30 meters away, puts all his strength into hurling the ball like a bullet towards the batsman, and what does the batsman do? Casually leaves it alone. For someone unfamiliar with cricket, watching that scene again might make them want to tear their hair out. Yet, hats off to our patience and passion as we eagerly await the next delivery. Test cricket is boring, long, and after five days of struggle, there’s still no guarantee of a result. Sometimes, even a draw feels like a victory. Is that really the spirit of the game? Can a sport celebrate timidity as an admirable quality?

Looking at the format and length of a Test match, it seems like a game for people with too much time on their hands—people without real work to do. And yes, you're right: cricket was indeed a game for the idle rich. They weren’t concerned about making a living, just passing the time with grace. The elites would play while their servants did the fielding, and all the lords had to do was hit boundaries.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain was the largest empire in recorded human history and, more significantly, a self-proclaimed harbinger of modern civilization across the East and West. Many tend to dismiss the British as mere greedy invaders and looters, thereby oversimplifying the narrative. However, the other side of the picture is equally compelling and worth examining. Yes, the British plundered vast resources across the globe, a tragic chapter in itself, but what they contributed to the world—education, science, technology, industry, and economics—deserves reflection as well. Our focus here is on sports, a domain where Britain’s influence has been profound. Indeed, most of the sports that are popular across the world today owe their origins to British colonialism.

Britain ruled the Indian subcontinent for nearly 200 years. So, why did the British only leave us with cricket and not football? Why did they not pass on the latter, equally thrilling game?

Football, a sport with a rich and long history, dates back to the 13th century when it was first played in the meadows and fields across England. When the British first arrived in India, their national and favorite sport was already cricket. In the 1700s, they introduced cricket to the subcontinent, and by around 1720, the first cricket match in India was played. The first cricket club in India was established in 1792. India played its first international Test match in 1932, becoming the sixth nation to join the Test-playing world.

Football, on the other hand, only gained widespread popularity in Britain after 1863, by which time cricket had already established deep roots in the subcontinent.

Football only gained popularity in Britain after 1863, by which time cricket had already established itself firmly in the Indian subcontinent. As a result, football never quite took root in the region.

Secondly, the ruling elite were the ones who ventured into the colonies, and cricket was their sport of choice. Wherever the British elite went, cricket followed. On the other hand, football was considered the sport of Britain’s middle-class workers. These workers, involved in fields like science, education, industry, and railways, carried football with them to whichever part of the world their work took them. Consequently, football flourished in Europe and other regions where British workers traveled, while the colonized nations continued to see cricket as the prime and prestigious sport, following in the footsteps of their former rulers.

Cricket has become the religion of the subcontinent and its star god

When comparing cricket and football in terms of the resources required, football players need only a field and a single ball to play, while cricket demands not only a field but also an expensive ball, costly bats, and even more expensive cricket gear. Thus, cricket is often seen as the sport of the wealthy, while football, being less costly, is regarded as the game of the middle class and the poor.

A small ground suffices for football, but in cricket, a well-hit shot can break a neighbor’s window. Weather also has a lesser impact on football, while cricket is highly sensitive to the elements, with many matches falling victim to rain.

From a technical standpoint, a midfielder in football runs approximately 7 kilometers during a 90-minute match, whereas a fast bowler in T20 cricket runs about 700 meters. Much of the footballer’s running often goes unrewarded, while in cricket, almost every ball leads to some action. Despite covering 7 kilometers, football matches often end in a draw, whereas the chances of a draw in cricket, especially in shorter formats, are almost negligible.

Two of the greatest stars of the modern world of football

Although cricket is a longer game than football, the excitement in cricket reaches its peak during the final moments when only a few runs are needed from the last few balls. Football lacks this particular intensity; penalty shootouts are merely a straightforward method to decide the outcome of a match.

In football, all players get ample opportunities to showcase their skills throughout the match, while in cricket, stars like Babar Azam or Virat Kohli often end up dominating the game single-handedly. Additionally, football allows substitutions during the game, offering tactical flexibility, while in cricket, once you're out, there’s no second chance.

From the perspective of fitness and physical exertion, football provides nearly all its players with continuous, rigorous physical activity, whereas in cricket, only a few players are actively engaged at any given time.

Football may involve constant tussles and body contact, but cricket injuries, caused by the hard ball, can sometimes be far more severe. Handling a cricket ball isn’t easy, and injuries from it can be quite serious.

When it comes to skill and technique, footballers display mastery with their feet—swinging the ball, creating angles, and executing long-range kicks.

And from his head too, he gets applause. 

Cristiano Ronaldo, the world's greatest and most popular soccer player, with a flying head kick of about 10 feet.

On the other hand, there are more factors involved in cricket, the toss, the area, the weather of the area, the pitch etc. are very important.

Shoaib Akhtar bowling the fastest ball in the world of cricket at a speed of 161.3 km

Let’s talk about the art of fast bowling in cricket, its passion, and the sheer skill it demands—speed, fitness, and swing. When a fast bowler charges towards the crease from his run-up, the intensity builds with every step. Then there's the magic of a slow bowler’s googlies and spin. Imagine facing a ball delivered at 160 km/h—evaluating its trajectory in a split second and launching a powerful stroke that can send it soaring over 90 meters. Every ball bowled at the batsman could be his last, leaving almost no room for error.

Brett Lee: Consistently attacking batsmen at speeds above 150 km/h.

In comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo’s kick is considered one of the fastest in football, reaching speeds of around 130 km/h.

Football is played and watched almost everywhere in the world, while cricket’s popularity is limited to specific regions. The FIFA World Cup has become a global celebration, where the entire world comes together in a single moment of collective excitement. The level of celebration and energy generated during the tournament captivates the entire globe, even countries without world-class teams get swept up in the media hype and influence. If you remove Indian fans from cricket’s fanbase, its global following would drop to less than half.

Football, having transcended any single nation or region, doesn’t fall prey to the kind of political manipulation that cricket often does. In particular, India has used cricket as a political tool, casting a shadow over the notion of cricket as a "gentleman’s game."

From a fanbase perspective, football is far ahead. It boasts around 3.5 to 4 billion fans, whereas cricket struggles to reach 2.5 billion at most.

Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the most famous footballers, has an estimated net worth of $500 million. His charitable contributions, such as funding a child’s medical treatment with $100,000, add to his global appeal. Football transfers, such as Neymar’s record-breaking $230 million deal, are unmatched in the cricketing world. 

 Similarly, when it comes to money, football is far ahead

Virat Kohli's net worth is estimated to be around $127 million. While according to Forbes report, French star Kylian Mbappe will earn 128 million dollars this season.

The French footballer who beat Messi and Argentina Mbappe was born in Bondi, a small town north of Paris. His father from Cameroon was the coach of the local club. His son was not interested in anything except football. Mbappe had a football match going on in his mind while he was awake.

His bedroom had posters of Ronaldo and Zidane, whom he has been a fan of since childhood.

At a young age, it began to appear that Kalyan had a talent. At the age of 10, word got around Paris that a kid from Bondi was a pretty good footballer.

Similarly, the football trophy made of gold is the most expensive trophy in the world.

If we talk about the Muslim community, is Pakistan the only Muslim country that has won the World Cup?

Morocco's victory over Spain in the World Cup 2022 is being hailed as their victory by Muslims and Arabs, although Morocco is not an Arab but an African country, but all this is a reason to be proud.

The best performance by a Muslim country in the FIFA World Cup so far is Turkey’s third-place finish in 2002. In contrast, Pakistan has not only won the Cricket World Cup but also holds numerous global cricket records.

Pakistan played its first international cricket match on November 22, 1935, in a match between Sindh and Australia. Here are Pakistan's major achievements in cricket:

• 1992 One Day World Cup: Winner
• 1999 One Day World Cup: Runner-up
• 2009 T20 World Cup: Winner
• 2007 T20 World Cup: Runner-up
• 2022 T20 World Cup: Runner-up
• 2017 Champions Trophy: Winner

Sialkot and Football

Although Pakistan’s global football ranking is 194, it is ranked number one in the world for manufacturing footballs. This is due to Sialkot's historical connection with football. Sialkot is known as the "football manufacturing capital of the world"! It is the official football supplier for the FIFA World Cup and the largest producer of hand-stitched footballs globally. Local factories in Sialkot produce 40-60 million footballs annually, which accounts for around 60% of the world’s football production.

Sialkot is a relatively wealthy city compared to the rest of Pakistan, with a GDP of $13 billion and an estimated per capita income of $18,500 in 2021.

Sialkot first became a hub for sports equipment manufacturing during the colonial era. In British India, footballs for the English players were shipped from Britain. On one occasion, the shipment was delayed, and the players had to use old footballs. An Englishman, in need of repair for his worn-out football, took it to a market in Sialkot. Impressed by the high-quality repair, the English began ordering footballs directly from Sialkot.

Today, Sialkot produces a wide range of sports equipment, including footballs, hockey sticks, cricket gear, and gloves, which are used in international events such as the Olympics and World Cups.

The heart says cricket, but the mind says football.